Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) is summoning his caucus for a rare Saturday conference call ahead of a potential reconciliation "vote-a-rama" next week. Why it matters: Senate Budget Chair Lindsey Graham's (R-S.

The Senate began its budgeting process after waiting several weeks for the House to move forward with its process. Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) is spearheading the effort, and he's promising others on the committee it isn't a waste of their time.

House Democrats sought to dial up the heat on Republicans on Thursday, as lawmakers considered a budget blueprint that could be key to enacting President Trump’s agenda, despite internal GOP rifts over spending and taxes that threaten to impede those efforts.

Senator Lindsey Graham, the South Carolina Republican who relishes being in the middle of the action, is leapfrogging the House G.O.P., which is still tied in knots over how to pass its budget.

Senate Republicans released a budget reconciliation bill on Friday, looking to fast-track Trump’s agenda even as the House has asked for more time to advance its own.